


Iron Forged Bonds

by Kyber, NixQuinnIsRoyalty



Series: who needs therapy when you’ve got sbi fanfic [3]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: ADHD, Alcohol Withdrawal, Alternate Universe - Criminals, Alternate Universe - Prison, Amnesia, Arson, Attempted Murder, Autism Spectrum, Child Neglect, Childhood Trauma, Drug Withdrawal, Eating Disorders, F/M, Family Dynamics, Gen, Gender Dysphoria, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Internalized Homophobia, Internalized Transphobia, M/M, Memory Loss, Mental Health Issues, Multiple Pronouns for Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Murder, Nonbinary Dream, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Schizophrenia, Trans Drista, Trans Floris | Fundy, Trans TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), and I’m not telling who it is, aro/ace Technoblade, aro/ace tommyinnit, basically everyone is queer in some way, except one token cishet, juvie to be exact
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:01:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29245500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyber/pseuds/Kyber, https://archiveofourown.org/users/NixQuinnIsRoyalty/pseuds/NixQuinnIsRoyalty
Summary: Twenty children, arrested at separate times, for different crimes, end up at the same juvenile detention center. Alone against the world save for each other (and one surprisingly cool corrections officer), the bonds they form will last the rest of their lives.OrA modern au where twenty members of the Dream SMP are delinquents, and Phil is an officer at their juvie.
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity & Eret, Alexis | Quackity & Eret & Floris | Fundy & Niki | Nihachu & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Alexis | Quackity & Phil Watson, Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Karl Jacobs & Sapnap, Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Darryl Noveschosch & Sapnap, Eret & Floris | Fundy, Eret & Floris | Fundy & Niki | Nihachu, Eret & Floris | Fundy & Niki | Nihachu & Ranboo, Eret & Floris | Fundy & Niki | Nihachu & Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Eret & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Eret & Karl Jacobs & Ranboo & Wilbur Soot, Eret & Minx | JustAMinx (Video Blogging RPF), Eret & Niki | Nihachu & TommyInnit, Eret & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Eret & Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Eret & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Eret & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Everyone & Everyone, Jschlatt & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo & Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit, Jschlatt/Wilbur Soot, Kristen Rosales Watson/Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Sapnap & Wilbur Soot, Toby Smith | Tubbo & Phil Watson, Toby Smith | Tubbo & Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Zak Ahmed & Phil Watson
Series: who needs therapy when you’ve got sbi fanfic [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2103558
Comments: 37
Kudos: 394





	1. Mistakes and Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a bit non-chronological, so at the beginning of every chapter I’ll tell you who is currently incarcerated. 
> 
> Current inmates:  
> Tommy  
> Tubbo  
> Dream  
> George  
> Sapnap  
> Ranboo  
> Wilbur  
> Schlatt  
> Eret  
> Quackity  
> Fundy  
> Niki  
> Jack  
> Minx  
> Skeppy  
> Bad Boy Halo  
> Drista  
> Technoblade

“Let’s go rob someone, Tubbo, we’re not gonna get caught, Tubbo, we’re not gonna get arrested and sent to jail—”

“You’re the one who fucking lit it on fire!” Tommy interjected. 

“To get rid of the evidence!” protested Tubbo. 

“No one would’ve known! The only reason they caught us was because the fucking house was on fire!” 

“No one would’ve known? No one would’ve known? Tommy, you took the record player! Of course they were gonna know!”

“W— yeah, but they wouldn’t’ve known it was _us_!”

“We didn’t have gloves or— or masks, or— anything! We didn’t have anything that would hide us and now I’m going to jail and who’s going to look after Lani, huh?! J’s been gone for two years and I just went and got arrested too!” Desperation crept into Tubbo’s voice and Tommy softened, reaching out to try to comfort him. 

“Hey, Lani’ll be fine—”

“Well, you can say that, you don’t have a fucking family to look after!”

Tommy froze, his face going cold as Tubbo’s eyes widened in realization at what he just said. 

“Wait, Tommy, I didn’t mean—”

“Tobias Schlatt.” Tubbo cursed at the sound of the officer’s voice. 

“Tommy, truly, I didn’t—”

“Now, Schlatt.” The officer snapped at him as Tommy turned to stare at the wall. Tubbo couldn’t do much else than allow himself to be handcuffed and led out. 

All through the walk to the courtroom, Tubbo could only see his best friend’s stony face. The way he’d shut down immediately, and how it was Tubbo’s fault his usually energetic friend had gone cold and silent. Tubbo barely heard the call of “Guilty on all charges,” consumed more by the guilt of hurting Tommy than any guilt for theft and arson. Had Tubbo driven away the one person who had always been by his side without any obligation? Had he thrown away one of the most important people in his life— his partner in crime, now literally? Would he ever be able to even apologize? It could be years before they saw each other— or never! Oh god, what had Tubbo done?

It wasn’t until he stepped into the transport van to see Tommy already seated that he snapped out of the despair, shocked and relieved to see him there. 

“Tommy!” Tubbo stumbled over his feet in his rush to sit next to the blond, gushing his apologies. “That was really uncalled for, what I said, I truly didn’t mean it. I’m sorry! I’m really, really sorry, Tommy!”

“‘S fine, Big T.” Tommy shifted uncomfortably, glancing in front of him, and Tubbo noticed the three older teens in the van, awkwardly not looking at them. They were dressed in the same orange suits as Tommy and Tubbo, though seemed a little more... well traveled. The one on the left had dark brown hair, nearly black and singed at the ends, that hung in greasy strands around his face. A few burn scars covered his hands and face in uneven blotches, creeping up the side of his neck from under his shirt. 

On the right was a guy with dirty blond hair, though Tubbo couldn’t tell if it was naturally dirty blond or just happened to not be recently washed. His face was ducked against his shoulder a little, almost as if he was trying to hide it, though he didn’t necessarily seem scared. He had a weird tan line leaving the bottom of his face paler than the top. Like the boy on the left, he had a scar just visible under his shirt, though this one seemed to be from a blade rather than a burn. 

Sandwiched between the two was another brunet. Though equally unkempt, he was mostly unremarkable, aside from what appeared to be a tan line from sunglasses. 

“Oh. Um. Hi guys?” The trio glanced at each other before the boy on the left spoke. 

“‘Sup.”

“Uh, I’m Tubbo. Who are you?”

“Sapnap.”

“I’m Dream,” the blond said, nudging the guy between them. 

“George.”

“Dream uses they/them pronouns. Misgender them and I’ll set you on fire,” Sapnap said lightly. Dream nodded and Tubbo gulped. 

“Already got our own arsonist, thanks.” A bright grin burst onto Tubbo’s face, delighted Tommy had referred to them as a team. Maybe he was forgiven?

“Yeah! Maybe I’ll set _you_ on fire!” Tubbo threatened, before immediately adding on “No I won’t.” The older teens chuckled at his quick turn around. 

“Alright, so what’s your name, kid?” Dream asked Tommy, who bristled. 

“I’m not a kid! I’m a big man, and my name is Tommy.” 

Dream snorted. “Alright, _big man_ ,” they said mockingly. 

Tommy spluttered, and the two went back and forth for a few minutes before quieting down. The drive to the juvenile detention center was long, and the five of them spent it mostly in silence. Occasionally the trio across from Tubbo and Tommy would mutter to each other, but when Tubbo tried to whisper with Tommy he only got one word responses. He stopped trying with a sinking heart, resigning himself to leaning his head against the rumbling metal wall of the van. It seemed he hadn’t been forgiven after all. 

_Well_ , Tubbo thought determinedly, _I’ll just have to make it up to him_. He couldn’t lose his best friend. He refused. 

Finally, what must have been at least an hour later, the van came to a stop. Everybody straightened up and looked towards the doors, anxiety bubbling up as they wondered what jail would be like. 

They were led through a concrete courtyard into a squat box of a building and, one by one, made to enter a small room with two officers. Once inside, one of the officers gave Tubbo a stack of folded clothing and told him to change. He waited for a moment before realizing they weren’t going to turn around. He hesitantly took off his shirt, then rushed through the rest of the clothing articles with a red face and shaking hands. 

The uniform was bland but surprisingly comfortable, consisting of navy pants and undershirt with a light grey t-shirt. Tubbo didn’t mind the clothes, he just wished he could’ve had some privacy. He’d give up both arson and hacking for the rest of his life if he never had to change in front of strange men again. 

He could tell that Tommy had hated it as well when he came out of the room hunched over with his face scrunched up in a way that was supposed to look angry, but Tubbo knew meant he was holding back tears. Tubbo took a step forward, but stopped himself, knowing he wouldn’t be any help when Tommy was still upset with him. Instead he simply watched in concern as Tommy didn’t straighten up while they were walked to their cells. Tubbo’s was the first on the left. He tried to linger at the doorway to see where Tommy’s was, but the officer wasn’t having it. 

There were two beds in the room but no sign of either of them being used, so Tubbo chose one at random and sat down heavily. He hadn’t… he hadn’t actually lost his friend, had he? Tommy would forgive him. Eventually. Right? How long did their fights usually last? Tubbo wracked his brain but couldn’t think of a time either of them had genuinely angered or hurt each other. Tubbo brought his knees to his chest, a pit forming in his stomach as he realized he’d been the one to break that streak. 

The door opened again and Tubbo whipped his head up to see one of the guys from the transport van— what was his name, Sapnap?— walk into the room. 

“Hey dude. Guess we’re roomies.”

“Uh. Yeah. Guess so.”

Sapnap sat down on his bed, looking around for a moment before repositioning so he lay down with his arms behind his head. 

“Do you fight a lot?”

Tubbo stiffened. Was it so obvious Tommy was angry at him that even a stranger could tell? “Wh-what do you mean?”

“Like, punching and shit? You like brawling?” Sapnap glanced over at him. Oh. He was talking about something entirely different. 

“Um, no? I generally try to- try to avoid that.”

“Alright. I’m gonna be punching the wall a lot then. Don’t worry about it.” Tubbo blinked at his nonchalant statement. 

“What? Why?” The older boy shrugged. 

“I get these moods where I just have to—” he punched the air. “Y’know? Usually Dream or George will wrestle with me but otherwise I’ve gotta find something else to hit. Like a wall.”

“Oh. Sorry? I don’t really know how to fight.”

“I could teach you!” Sapnap sat up, swinging his legs over the bed and leaning towards Tubbo excitedly. 

“What like— right now?”

“Yeah! Why not?” Tubbo thought for a moment. It would probably be useful to know how to fight if he was going to be in jail for the next two years. Besides, if he was busy fighting he probably wouldn’t be able to linger on how he’d fucked up his only friendship. 

“Yeah, alright! Let’s do it!”

“Okay, the first thing is your stance. You’re gonna wanna have your legs apart, knees bent. That way no one can just bowl you over.” Sapnap stood up and beckoned for Tubbo to do the same, settling into the proper stance. Tubbo tried to copy him. “When you go to punch someone, always have your thumb on the outside of your fist. Keeping it inside is a good way to break it.”

“Wait, you can break your thumb from punching someone?”

“If you do it wrong, yeah.”

Tubbo started paying more attention. 

Sapnap spent a good while teaching him things about fighting he had never considered. He even let Tubbo punch him a few times, encouraging him not to hold back. He had just steeled himself to go full strength when an officer banged on the door. 

“Quiet down! It’s time for lights out!”

Sure enough, a moment later the lights went dark. Tubbo blinked a few times, just managing to make out the shape of the older teen in the light coming from the window. 

“Continue tomorrow?” Sapnap asked. 

“Yeah! Totally!” The two of them stood awkwardly before silently agreeing to get into bed. There was silence for a moment before Tubbo spoke up, not really wanting to stop talking to his new roommate. 

“So, uh, what were you arrested for?”

“Burnt down some guy’s house.”

Tubbo sat straight up in shock. “No way! Me too!”

“Really?” Sapnap sat up, leaning on his elbow to look at Tubbo. 

“Yeah! My friend and I— Tommy, he was in the van— robbed this house and I thought that if I set it on fire all the evidence would be gone but, uh, someone called the fire department and that’s how we got arrested.”

Sapnap snorted. “Yeah, I just wanted to see some fire. Turns out that’s illegal.” Tubbo chuckled a little. 

“Yeah, it’s nice to watch fire.”

“It’s pretty, isn’t it? My friends think I’m weird for liking how flames look.”

“It is pretty! Your friends are stupid.” Sapnap laughed at Tubbo’s declaration. 

“Yeah, they are pretty stupid. You got experience with dumb friends?” Tubbo’s smile fell. 

“No,” he said, voice soft. “I think I’m the dumb friend.” Sapnap had no response. After a moment, Tubbo laid back down, back to his roommate. He was awake for a long time, replaying the moment Tommy’s face went cold in his head. 

The next morning Tubbo was awoken by a knock on the door, followed by a creak as it swung open. 

“Hey guys, time to get up.”

Tubbo sat up, rubbing his eyes. He looked over to see a blond officer in the doorway, a different one from last night. He gave Tubbo a small smile and nod. 

“Hey, Tobias, right? Or do you like Toby?”

“Tubbo, actually.”

“Alright. I’m Phil. Nick?” He turned to the older teen. “Or do you have a different name?”

“Sapnap,” he said blearily, eyes still closed. 

“You got different pronouns I should be aware of? Either of you?”

Tubbo shook his head, a bit surprised. Sapnap seemed shocked too, if the way his eyes snapped open to look at Phil was any indication. 

“Uh, yeah. He/they.” Tubbo glanced at Sapnap with confusion, but Phil just nodded. 

“I’ll make sure to remember. Now get up,” he said sternly, though not unkindly. “I’ve gotta escort you to breakfast.” 

Tubbo stood up obediently and after a moment— and a yawn— so did Sapnap. Phil led them out the corridor and down the steps, into a large room full of teens and preteens sat at round, plastic tables. Sapnap made a beeline for his friends, _what were their names? George and… D-something?_ Tubbo looked around, nervously wondering if he should try to sit with Tommy. 

All thoughts of his friend fled his mind, however, when he spotted a familiar brunet with a scraggly, half grown mustache talking to a curly haired teen. It had been two years since they’d seen each other, but Tubbo instinctively started towards his older brother, stumbling as his eyes welled up. 

“J!?” J’s head snapped up and his eyes widened as he saw the younger boy coming towards him. He stood up partway from his seat, motion aborted by uncertainty. 

“Tubbo..?” Tubbo simply sobbed as he flung himself into J’s arms. J caught him easily, wrapping him up in his warm embrace like he always had. Tubbo felt the hand carding through his hair as he smashed his face into J’s chest, body shaking from the sobs wracking through him. J shushed him, his quiet, rumbling voice just as soothing as it had been two years ago. 

“Sh, sh, it’s okay, Tubbo. I’m here. I’m sorry I left you, buddy, but I’m here now.” Soft assurances filled his ears for several minutes, until he slowly stopped trembling. He pulled back from J ever so slightly to wipe his nose on his sleeve, but was stopped by the paper napkin held in front of his face. “You okay, bud?” Tubbo looked up to see J’s concerned smile, just how he remembered it. He nodded as he took the napkin. 

“I can’t— I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Yeah... Hey, uh, Tubbo? Why are _you_ here?” J’s soft tone turned sterner and Tubbo cringed at the thought of the oncoming lecture he knew he’d be getting. 

“Um. I… may have burnt down a house?”

“What the fuck, Toby.”


	2. Sibling Reunions and Curious Folks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Current Inmates:
> 
> Tommy  
> Tubbo  
> Dream  
> George  
> Sapnap  
> Ranboo  
> Wilbur  
> Schlatt  
> Eret  
> Quackity  
> Fundy  
> Niki  
> Jack  
> Minx  
> Skeppy  
> Bad Boy Halo  
> Drista  
> Technoblade

Just like the day before, Sapnap was awoken by a knock on the door. They groaned but sat up, glancing over at his roommate. The kid was practically vibrating. Sapnap could guess why. When they returned to their room last night, Tubbo had talked his ear off about his older brother who had been arrested a couple years ago and miraculously happened to be in this same juvie. He’d been so excited, Sapnap hadn’t bothered to bring up the fighting lessons, not that they could get a word in edgewise anyway. He wasn’t mad though, not after seeing how upset Tubbo had gotten when the lights went out and he realized he’d forgotten. 

The guard came to escort them again and, as expected, Tubbo rushed straight for his brother when they arrived in the cafeteria. Sapnap ambled over to Dream and George with a yawn. He stopped short however when he saw the small blond kid sat at the table they’d claimed yesterday, latched onto Dream’s arm. Dream was beaming down at her, hanging on to every rambling word she said. They looked up when Sapnap sat down though, excitedly gesturing. 

“Sapnap! This is my sister, Drista!” 

“Sister?”

Dream nodded. They couldn’t contain their smile, hadn’t been able to since the night before. To see their sister? Introduce her to their friends? Dream had never thought it’d happen. For years now they’d had this fear that their little sister was gone forever, that they’d never see her again. They’d given up hope, resigning themself to the guilt of being unable to save Drista from the lessons of their parents. Dream had thought the scars on their chest would be their only reminder they’d ever had a little sister at all. To see her here, alive and well, was nothing short of a miracle. 

“Yeah, this is Drista! She changed her name to match mine.” They were pleased to see Sapnap nod in understanding, picking up on what they didn’t say. 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Drista. I’m Sapnap. I use he/they pronouns.”

Dream smiled, warmed by the gesture of Sapnap sharing their pronouns. They knew that he never bothered to tell strangers, too tired of the irritation that came from explaining it over and over to less accepting people. To tell Drista right off the bat meant they were expecting her to hang around.

Dream was pulled from their thoughts when George trembled slightly, burrowing further into them. Sapnap noticed and immediately sat down on his other side, putting their arm over Dream’s shoulder in order to firmly sandwich their friend. George, still sleepy and shameless it seemed, immediately turned to curl into Sapnap, the human heater of the group. Sapnap winced silently as George snuck his ice cold hands under their shirt. Dream knew from experience that he would find the warmest spot and suck away all the warmth for himself. They were both used to it though, and let George do what he needed. 

“So, Drista.” They turned back to their sister. “You said you’d introduce us to some of the other people here?”

“Yeah, the ones worth knowing anyway. Who’s nice, who to avoid, who to be nice to because they’re terrifying. Y’know.”

“I think,” Dream said with mounting concern as they realized they were, in fact, in a prison for the foreseeable future. “That last part would be useful.”

* * *

“Hey, Technoblade!”

Techno looked up from his book, recognizing Drista’s voice as she approached. Behind her were three teens who looked closer to his age. They must’ve been new, because he didn’t know their faces. The one with the darkest hair was almost definitely an arsonist, Techno recognized the scarring and burnt hair of a pyromaniac who wasn’t careful. The youngest brunet who had arrived yesterday had those same signs, to a lesser degree. He wasn’t in this group though. 

The blond had the stance of someone ready for a fight at all times, expectant of violence. The other brunet, on the other hand, seemed much weaker, his purple fingers trembling slightly. Nerves or cold? It was hard to tell. 

All three of them had greasy hair and a generally grimy look. Indicative of homelessness, probably with only each other to rely on if the way they seemed to subconsciously move in sync was any indication. 

“Hello.”

“Blade, this is my older sibling Dream and their friends Sapnap and George. They just got here yesterday.”

Ah. The fabled Dream. Anyone who had ever met Drista knew how she idolized her sibling. She didn’t have many memories before being arrested, and it seemed every pleasant one involved Dream. As— not a friend of Drista’s, but someone with whom she’d shared a residence with for four years, Techno had heard every one of them. Often multiple times. 

“Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Uh, yeah,” Dream said. “Nice to meet you too.”

The other two introduced themselves, George holding his hand out to shake. Techno simply nodded, and let him realize on his own that Techno wouldn’t be touching a stranger with any number of weapons on him. George’s hand slowly fell. 

“Yeah, Blade’s cool,” said Drista, ignoring the unease that had befallen the group. “I’ve seen him beat up, like, at least ten homophobes.”

“You have seen me attack four homophobes,” Techno corrected. “The others you witnessed were bigots and unsavory individuals of differing types. Of course, you were not present in every instance I found myself fighting.”

“Why do you remember that?” Sapnap asked. 

“I keep a journal.”

They glanced at each other awkwardly. Techno could guess what they were thinking. Some variation on him being intimidating, or unsettling, or creepy. He never really understood it but that’s how it was here. A strange difference from his childhood home. 

They made their excuses and quietly left, Drista seemingly giving them a tour. Techno watched them walk away, his eyes drifting to take stock of the rest of the courtyard. It was important to take note of what social circle each new inmate fell into. The other blond was sitting by himself, but the youngest brunet was with Schlatt and Wilbur. That was odd. Those two formed a very tight, if small, clique. Sometimes Quackity hung out with them, but Techno suspected that was only because he and Wilbur were roommates. 

Upon closer examination the younger brunet looked very similar to Schlatt. Hadn’t he mentioned younger siblings at one point? Techno was fairly certain he hadn’t been meant to know that piece of information, but it was useful now as it explained the uncharacteristic softness Schlatt seemed to exhibit towards the younger. 

Wilbur, on the other hand, seemed more withdrawn. Even sulky. Techno wondered why, but only for a moment. He was more interested in reading the latest book Phil had brought him. 

* * *

Wilbur watched in silence as Tubbo and Schlatt talked to each other excitedly. Schlatt had barely said hello to him before all his attention was captivated by his brother. The only good thing about juvie had been Schlatt being solely focused on him, and now even that was gone. God, Wilbur wanted some coke. A drink. Something. He hadn’t been this itchy for a fix in months, usually _someone_ could take his mind off it. But of course, that certain someone was now too busy to sneak into the bathrooms with him. 

Wilbur rested his head in his hands, leaning forward as his elbows slowly slid down the table. His eyes flitted over the rest of the yard as he tuned out the brothers beside him. The Blade was being creepy as usual, watching everyone with his piercing eyes. Drista was dragging around three of the other new kids, seemingly showing them around. Wilbur wondered why she was bothering. And why the last new guy was across the yard, sitting by himself, if Drista had taken the others on with her.

Schlatt laughed, genuinely laughed, at something the kid said and Wilbur grimaced. He couldn’t handle this. He looked around again with a purpose this time. Quackity was sitting with Bad and Skeppy, perhaps they’d be a good distraction. Wilbur considered for a moment but decided against sitting with them, not in the mood for the high energy that would surely be at that table. Niki was a good option, but it seemed like Eret was once again trying to get her and Fundy to talk. That was sure to be a shit show, as usual. Well, maybe the last remaining new kid would be tolerable.

Wilbur straightened up. Yeah, he’d get his own new companion! If Schlatt didn’t care about him, then fine. He didn’t care about Schlatt.

“I think I’m gonna go say hi to the new guy.” Schlatt glanced up to give Wilbur a brief acknowledgement before ignoring him in favor of Tubbo again. Wilbur repressed the urge to clench his fists, simply getting up and walking over to the young blond. 

“Hey,” he said, plopping himself down at the table. The kid glanced to the side, as if expecting Wilbur to be speaking to someone else. 

“Uh, hi?”

“I’m Wilbur.”

“Okay, Wilbur. What the hell do you want?” 

Wilbur snorted at his blunt question, almost phrased like a demand. Not too trusting, huh? Wilbur wondered if he was a street kid. 

“Just introducing myself. Usually polite to tell people your name after they tell you theirs.”

The kid squinted at him but answered after a moment. 

“Tommy.” Wilbur wasn’t sure if he imagined it, but he almost seemed hesitant about the name that came out his mouth. 

“So, Toms—“

“Tommy.”

“Yeah, Toms. What’re you in for?”

Tommy glared, but Wilbur could tell there wasn’t much actual heat behind it. 

“Robbed a house and shit. What about you, big guy?”

Wilbur leaned back a bit, looking up to remember what exactly he was arrested for. That evening was _very_ hazy.

“Well, let’s see. I was high off my ass, for one. Uh, coke I think. Weed too, probably. Then the whole ‘knowing a drug dealer and not turning him in’ thing, then helping him resist arrest. Which in itself was a whole fiasco because I was driving both without a license and underneath the influence.”

“What the fuck.”

“I’m not finished.”

“Holy shit,” Tommy muttered under his breath. 

“There was something with a salmon? I don’t really remember. Then, of course, the underage prostitution. Let’s see... I think that’s it.” Tommy opened his mouth but Wilbur lifted his finger. “Oh! And shoplifting.” 

There was silence for a moment. 

“Are— are you done?”

“Yes, I’m done.”

“What the _fuck_.”

Wilbur cackled, and he could see Tommy’s lip twitch. Either holding back a smile or about to punch him. Wilbur was sure he could handle the kid if he leapt over the table at him, at least enough to avoid serious injuries. Fortunately it didn’t come to that, and Wilbur could see him fighting a grin as he shook his head. 

“You’re fucking crazy.”

“Yeah.” Wilbur snorted. “Maybe so. Not the craziest in here though.”

“I can believe that.”

“Speaking of, who’s your roommate?”

“Why?”

“Curious.” Wilbur shrugged.

“No, why are you talking to me? What do you want?” Tommy’s voice was harder, and his body language defensive. Looking at the hunched over kid, Wilbur was definitely starting to think he was right about Tommy living on the streets. Or in a dangerous household. 

“I’m bored, man. Look, does it matter? You’re stuck here for six months or four years or whatever fucking sentence they’ve given you, and it doesn’t look like you’ve got any friends in here. You really gonna look a gift horse in the mouth?” Wilbur met his eyes steadily, not backing down but not being as aggressive as he could be. He knew how to handle people like this, being one himself, and he really didn’t feel like finding a new distraction. It paid off as Tommy finally released his tensed shoulders, glancing down. 

“I guess not.”

“So?”

“So what?”

“Who’s your roommate?”

“Oh. Uh, this guy, Ranboo I think is his name?”

“Ah. Yeah she’s alright.”

“She? Oh, I thought—“

“Yeah, no, Ranboo uses all pronouns.”

“All?”

“Mhm.”

“I... didn’t know you could do that.”

“Why not? Doesn’t really matter, does it? Eret’s like that too.”

“Who?”

“Brown hair, curly, scars around their eyes. He’s roommates with the Blade. Big pink haired dude that anyone with a brain stays on the good side of.”

“What, he a bully or something?”

“Nah. He usually keeps to himself unless someone’s being an asshole. Yknow, racist or homophobic or whatever. When he does step in though, he never loses.”

“Oh.”

“Actually, if you give him a good reason, he’ll usually fight for you without much fuss.”

“Well, what’s a good reason?”

“Uh, I think someone was trying to convince Ranboo they were dating. Eret told the Blade and he pretty much beat the guy to a pulp.”

Tommy’s brows furrowed in confusion. 

“How would they convince someone they were dating, that doesn’t make sense.”

“Ranboo’s got bad memory issues. Really bad.”

“Oh. I thought they were just, y’know, not good with names.”

“Nah, man, she’s got like, actual amnesia. I’ve heard he doesn’t remember anything before being arrested. Which, y’know, would make sense if you’d been arrested at six years old or something, like Drista, but they’ve only been here about a year. Maybe a little longer.”

“Oh. Huh. Who’s Drista?” 

Tommy gradually relaxed as Wilbur answered his questions and asked his own. The uneasy air slowly dissipated, though Wilbur couldn’t keep from stealing small looks at Schlatt, wondering if he was thinking of him. 

He didn’t notice Tommy glancing at the same table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What the fuck why are there 288 kudos before I even post the second chapter?? I mean part of it is probably because I took so long but h o l y s h i t

**Author's Note:**

> This entire story and au wouldn’t be possible without all the work NixQuinnIsRoyalty has done so give them some love! (Also this means anything they post for this au is completely canon unless stated otherwise 👀)
> 
> And a big thank you to Saline for beta reading!
> 
> Because there’s been a bit of hype for this, we already have a discord server. Feel free to join uwu  
> https://discord.gg/M4BNGT9kCC


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